In the landscaping business, transplanting of larger trees is a popular method of achieving an aesthetically pleasing landscape appearance, without the necessity of planning smaller trees and waiting for them to grow. To that end, many devices are known to assist in such a project.
For example, a mechanical tree spade is commonly known in the prior art as used to remove such a large tree. The typical mechanical tree spade includes a housing with a number of blades mounted thereon. These blades form a very large circular spade, usually with about four blades, which can then be assembled around the trunk of a tree. The blades can then be driven into the ground and collapsed around the root ball of the tree. The tree can then be lifted out of the ground and transported to a desired position.
However, it is a major difficulty to center a mechanical tree spade around the root ball of a tree. Yet, by centering the mechanical tree spade around the root ball, the best root ball is achieved, so that replanting of the tree in a desired location provides the best chance for the tree to thrive in the new area.
One partially effective method, as shown in FIG. 1, for achieving desired center positioning of the mechanical tree spade 110 mounted on a truck 102 is having a control person 104 and a siting person 106 at the digging site, to assist in the positioning of the mechanical tree spade 110. The cost of this additional siting person 116, combined with the unsure accuracy provided thereby, brings the efficiency thereof into great question. It is very desirable to provide a more efficient manner of centering the mechanical tree spade around a tree decided to be transplanted.
It is further very useful to be able to modify an existing mechanical tree spade to have a centering device. Such an adaptable centering device provides a great cost savings if the centering device can be added to an existing mechanical tree spade, rather than having to replace the entire mechanical tree spade.